In most states, people tend to worry about things like education or the economy. In Oregon, public pensions are suddenly at the forefront of political discussions. Why? Because the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) in Oregon is more than $25 billion in the hole. Of course, Oregon is hardly the only state deep in the
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Perhaps an apology might be necessary for the sheer audacity of beginning any essay with such a question and with such a seemingly absurd claim. Of course, Shakespeare cannot save civilization, at least not on his own. Perhaps we should rephrase things a little, asking a slightly different question: Can Civilization be Saved without Shakespeare?
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Americans should be thankful not only for the rare genius that assembled in Philadelphia in 1787 to draft the Constitution, but for the unique circumstances under which they met. Not all moments in time are ripe for founding a nation. Nor is every citizenry equally prepared to receive new modes and orders. The Founders’ time
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Anyone who grew up in or around large families probably remembers a particular kind of evening. Perhaps it was a birthday, or a family reunion, or a Christmas or New Years’ party, or a civic holiday. Depending on the ethnicities of the families involved, there might have been trays of baked ziti and meatballs, or
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I recently visited a friend’s house with five children. As I arrived for a morning coffee she was frantically vacuuming. She had left for the school drop off in a rush, and clothes were still strewn through the hallways and toothbrushes and toothpaste smeared the bathroom (pretty much what my house looks like too before
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“The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard
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